Ch 131
"Name."
"Sirius O'Brien Black."
"Remus John Lupin."
"Who did you work for?"
"The Order of the Phoenix."
"The Order of the Phoenix."
"At the very last moment, when a Secret Keeper had to be chosen, why did you select Peter Pettigrew instead of Professor Lupin?"
…
After forcing Lupin to swallow a few drops of truth serum—and Sirius Black to drink several more—Hermione began the interrogation.
Relying on the potion's effects, she guided Sirius to reveal the truth bit by bit. At the same time, she asked Lupin parallel questions, confirming that the truth serum was working exactly as intended.
When the potion's effects finally faded, Sirius clenched his fists, his voice hoarse with hatred.
"I hate myself. I doubted the wrong person and trusted a cowardly traitor. He had already been Voldemort's spy for a year, yet James and I still trusted him."
"It wasn't your fault," Lupin said quietly, gripping Sirius's shoulder.
"I know I was the prime suspect back then. Your doubts were reasonable. What I regret is running away in pain instead of thinking it through. Even now, I was still being fooled by that impostor. I even planned to invite him to the pub in a few days—to reminisce."
"No need to wait a few days," Sirius said coldly. "And we won't need a pub. Your office will do."
What followed needed no elaboration.
Facing the trembling Peter before them, Lupin no longer had a trace of doubt.
If Peter were innocent, he would not have lost the courage to prove it.
"Drink it," Sirius snarled, his voice shaking with barely restrained frenzy. "Prove your innocence. Or I'll send you on your way myself."
Twelve years.
This was the moment he had waited for.
"Let me send you on your way first."
A cold voice cut in from behind.
"Severus—save me!" Peter screamed desperately. "Lupin is helping Sirius Black kill me!"
Behind Sirius and Lupin, a thin man emerged from the shadows. Greasy black hair. A hooked nose. Eyes burning with barely contained madness.
"Shut up," Severus Snape said softly.
His wand was already pressed hard against Lupin's back.
Lupin froze.
Snape's lips curled—not merely in satisfaction, but in something cruel.
"I'll remove your weapon."
History repeated itself.
Sirius did not expect the wand aimed at Lupin to turn on him. The spell struck his arm, knocking his wand cleanly away before he could react.
"Excellent," Snape said with relish, catching it. "Another charge—assaulting a professor."
He examined the wand with interest.
"A student's wand," he murmured. "Did you forget to retrieve yours when you escaped? Or was it destroyed?"
He sneered.
"No matter. Your destination is the same—Azkaban. It's a shame the Dementors are gone. I would have enjoyed watching them kiss you."
"Severus, listen," Lupin said urgently. "There are misunderstandings—"
"Oh, I'm listening," Snape interrupted coldly. "And you'll be joining him. A tame werewolf helping a fugitive? Or were you accomplices all along?"
His voice lowered, venomous.
"I despised Dumbledore for making me brew Wolfsbane for you. Today, I'm grateful. Otherwise, how would I have discovered this while delivering it?"
"What you believe isn't the truth," Lupin said, his voice beginning to shake. "Give us five minutes."
"Enough." Snape's eyes darkened. "Let hell hear your excuses."
He muttered under his breath, grief twisting his face.
"Repent… in front of her."
"Sectumsempra!"
An invisible blade tore through the air. Lupin's robe shredded instantly, blood blooming across his exposed skin.
"This is interest," Snape said coldly. "If I could, I would kill you both."
"Calm down, Severus," Lupin gasped, pressing a hand to the wound as blood continued to flow.
"Stupefy!"
At point-blank range, the spell should not have missed.
But it did.
The curse slammed into the bookshelf instead, wood exploding outward as dust filled the room.
"Professor Lupin—now!" Hermione shouted.
She burst out from behind the shelves, grabbing Snape's legs and knocking him off balance. The brief distraction was enough.
"Granger!" Snape roared. "You're expelled! You dare aid a fugitive?!"
Her bushy brown hair gave her away instantly.
And in that single moment of fury—
The outcome hung in the balance.